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To my surprise, Fynn kicked off his shoes and came down the stairs to sit beside me. He pulled me onto his lap. “Well, hello there, pretty lady. Do you come here often?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Ignoring his silliness, I asked him the questions that had been burning in my mind. “How did your trip go? Is everything in your company okay? Do we need to worry about someone being sent to find you?”
Fynn gave me a little squeeze, holding me tight against his chest, not caring that his pants and shirt were now soaked. He just seemed happy to have physical contact with me. I couldn’t help but smile that even as a human, he recognized the pull of the bond. Being away from each other simply wasn’t comfortable, no matter if you were mer, Siren, or human.
Or Ancient,Lokene’s voice floated through my mind.
“Yes, everything is fine. I don’t know whether to be depressed or relieved over the fact that my company doesn’t really think they need me for it to continue to run smoothly.” Fynn sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, deep in thought.
“That is a testament to your skills as a leader and as a businessman. There are way too many companies that crumble the moment the founder steps away.” There was a note of admiration in Storm’s voice.
I knew my men held Fynn in high regard, but I loved that Storm was trying to reassure him.
“Yes, I guess you’re right.” Fynn buried his face in my hair, laughing as the wet strands stuck to his 5 o’clock shadow. “I want my companies to continue to do good in the world and make progress for marine conservation. However, the most important thing in the world to me is sitting on my lap, and I’m right where I want to be.”
“Ugh. I think I might be sick.” Lokene made fake dry heaving noises.
Fynn laughed over Lokene’s antics. “Keep it up, Ancient. I can’t wait to see how lovey-dovey you get after she gives you her love bite.”
Lokene scoffed. “I’ve already kissed her, and her toxin had no effect on me. Ancients are not susceptible to human illnesses, nor do they have to worry about bites from venomous animals on this planet.”
Fynn raised a single brow. “You don’t know what her venom will do if injected directly into your bloodstream. According to you, she carries earth magik you don’t possess. You’ve also told us that her body adapts in order to ensure her survival. Which means you have zero idea what her bite will do to you.”
“Whatever, human.” With a dismissive wave of his hand, Lokene walked to the refrigerator, pulling out food and piling it high on the counter. Just seeing that pile of food made me feel ill.
“I’m still too full to eat,” I told them about the feast that was held in my honor and the amazing mers I had met while they were gone. I tried to play down my parts of the story, but Zeno cut in and added the parts I had left out.
“I’m so proud of you.” Fynn squeezed me against his chest in a massive bear hug.
“I would’ve loved to have been there!” Kye was enthusiastic, and my heart melted at the interest he was taking in my world.
Turning to Storm and Eason, I asked about what had been laying heavy on my heart. “What did you find? Were there any other attacks while you were gone?”
“No. Thankfully, there have been no other attacks. Seeing the amount of damage they caused was devastating. Giant rock-face walls were blown up using small electric charges. This kept anyone on the surface from figuring out what was going on beneath the surface. Then, without the perimeter being checked by the security team, there was no one to stop them. They worked nearly all night without interruption.”
Eason dropped his head into his hands. “They were good men and didn’t deserve to be murdered. All because of one man’s greed.”
“I spoke with the families, letting them ask questions, although most of them I couldn’t answer. I was able to tell them about my memories of working with their loved ones and a few amusing anecdotes as well. They appreciated having someone to talk to about their loss.” Kye’s eyes were red. I suspected he had shed a tear or two over the loss of these men whom he respected.
While my Siren admired their strength and intellect, and my warrior heart loved their skills, I loved seeing glimpses of the vulnerable side of my mates.
I knew how difficult it was to hide your emotions while working. That was one of the reasons I had allowed the Ancients to seal mine away. Now that they were coming back, I was far more aware of the amount of strength it took to control your emotions while also staying focused on the task at hand.
“It looks like they took a significant amount of the Orpati. In the process of collecting it, they collapsed two caves and caused a huge crack in the largest formation.” Eason stared out the large window at the endless sea.
“While we were on the offshore base, there were two slight tremors. They were insignificant according to the scientists there, but we were told that the scientists have concerns about the possibility of more seismic activity,” Kye added.
Fynn’s arms tightened around me. “Which means that depending on how much damage was caused, there is an increased risk of a significant earthquake.” Fynn’s muscles were taut. I didn’t know as much about earthquakes, but from the thoughts running through their heads, I knew they could be deadly.
“If it’s out to sea, it shouldn’t take many lives, should it?” I was struggling to understand what was causing their faces to look so strained.
“What we’re worried about is a tsunami, Zosi. An earthquake out at sea seems innocent enough. After all, there’s not many humans at sea compared to the population on land. The issue is that there are times when an earthquake at sea will cause a tsunami, and when that reaches the shore, it causes massive devastation. Thousands of lives may be lost, as well as peoples’ livelihoods, their homes, and sometimes even entire cities are destroyed.” Storm was patient with his explanation.
“The sea is powerful and uncontrollable, which is why humans are both drawn to it and fear it,” I mused softly.
“Unfortunately, we cannot see how much damage has been done since the rock formation where most of the mining took place partially collapsed after they blew parts of it up. Who knows how deep they drilled inside before that happened?” Storm’s hand balled into a fist, and I could see a muscle in his jaw tick.
I looked around at my mates, all of whom had somber faces. I wanted to cheer them up but wasn’t sure how to do it. The Siren had an idea, the same one she always had. When she wanted to be cheered up, she enjoyed sex and violence, neither of which seemed to be an appropriate option for my men at that moment.
